


Torchwood Does Dallas

by galaxysoup



Series: Five Ways The World Was Made Right [2]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Aliens Make Them Do It, Children of Earth Fix-It, Hallucinations, Humor, Mildly Dubious Consent, Multi, Surprise Pairing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-08-17
Updated: 2009-08-17
Packaged: 2017-11-03 23:08:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/387009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxysoup/pseuds/galaxysoup
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So I wrote a long, thoughtful, serious CoE fix which took things like character development and artistic integrity into account. </p><p>And then I said “Screw it,” and wrote this.</p><p>
  <span class="small">(This series does not need to be read in order, or even in its entirety.)</span>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Torchwood Does Dallas

**Author's Note:**

> a. k. a. The Cliche
> 
> Originally posted on [Livejournal](http://torchwoodcoffee.livejournal.com/2069217.html).

_”You cannot just run away, Jack,” Gwen begged. If Jack’s heart hadn’t already been shattered beyond repair it would have broken at the sight of Gwen’s tear-streaked face._

_“Oh, yes I can. Just watch me...”_

Jack woke up screaming. It would have been very dramatic if someone who sounded suspiciously like Owen Harper hadn’t immediately hit him in the side of the face and said “Oi, shut it, Harkness!”

Jack stopped screaming and lay still, stunned. He’d finally cracked. The strain of losing Owen, Tosh, Ianto, Steven, the base, and even his freaking pterodactyl for crying out loud had obviously done what being buried alive for two thousand years hadn’t been able to accomplish.

He was completely insane.

And also, he had to admit, a little miffed at his subconscious for saddling him with an undead Owen Harper, _again_. 

There was a very familiar groan somewhere off to his left, and Ianto’s voice said “Oh, my _head_...”

Jack forgave his subconscious immediately.

“Ianto!” he said joyfully, sitting up. Abruptly, he realized that a) he was naked and b) so were Owen, Ianto, Tosh, and Gwen, all sprawled on the floor around him looking thoroughly debauched.

Jack decided to send his subconscious flowers. This was the best mental breakdown _ever_.

Ianto looked blearily up at him. “What are you looking so cheerful about?” he asked grouchily. 

“You’re _alive_!” Jack cheered, mauling him happily. Ianto flailed briefly, then sighed in resignation and just lay back and took it.

“Agh, what _happened_?” Tosh moaned. Jack gave Ianto one last hickey and pounced on Owen, who shrieked. 

“Don’t worry, Tosh, you’re next! Free kisses for all teammates!”

“Oh,” Tosh said flatly. “ _Now_ I remember.”

Gwen carefully pushed herself upright and slumped against the couch. “God, I’m sore. What _was_ that thing?”

“Alien sex toy,” Owen said, finally managing to fend Jack off.

“Oh, not again...” Gwen sighed.

“And I think it’s still working!” Owen added, sounding vaguely impressed, as Jack flung himself at Tosh.

“No, no, don’t worry about it,” Jack said, cuddling Tosh thoroughly. “I’m just having a mental breakdown. None of you are really here, so you don’t have to worry.” He was fairly sure that hadn’t made much sense, but he didn’t particularly care. 

His teammates traded tense, foreboding looks. 

“Okay,” Gwen said brightly, giving everyone extremely un-reassuring smiles. “Let’s make sure that device is off and not sending out any crazy vibes, yeah? Tosh, sweetheart, why don’t you keep an eye on Jack for a moment?”

“What?!” Tosh yelped, her voice somewhat muffled.

Jack beamed at all of them. “This is very realistic. I’m impressed,” he said to no one in particular. He watched fondly as Ianto began methodically destroying the alien sex toy with a hammer, and Gwen and Owen both came to the simultaneous realization that they were naked. There was a brief scuffle over Jack’s coat – the only piece of clothing still nearby and in one piece – which Gwen won. Owen sulked off to the medical bay, probably in search of scrubs.

“Jack?” Tosh asked in her talking-to-crazy-people voice. “Why do you think we’re not real?”

Jack sighed and petted Tosh’s hair. “Because I saw you all die.”

“I don’t remember dying, Jack.”

“Well, of course you wouldn’t,” Jack said. “It would be a horrible thing to remember. My subconscious is clearly trying to protect you from it.”

“How did I die?” Gwen asked curiously, coming to sit on the couch near them.

“Actually, _you_ survived, so I’m not really sure why you’re here now,” Jack said slowly. “You even got pregnant. By Rhys!” He added hastily, at Gwen’s horrified look. 

Ianto appeared in the doorway to Jack’s office, impeccably dressed and holding a pile of clothing and blankets. Jack admired the view for a moment. It was possible that Dream Ianto had even more butler-fu than Real Ianto, which was kind of hot. The hickies visible above his collar really only made it better.

“Clothes,” Ianto offered, handing one pile to Jack and another to the girls. “I’ve done my best with Jack’s wardrobe, although since nothing will fit you very well I’ve blankets too.”

“You’re gorgeous, Ianto,” Tosh said in relief, squirming out of Jack’s grip.

“Is there anything for me?” Owen asked plaintively, dumping a pile of assorted medical scanners on Gwen’s desk.

Ianto handed him a bundle. “Have we decided if we’re real yet?”

“I bloody feel real,” Owen groused, struggling into a pair of Jack’s trousers. “My head is pounding and I think I’ve got friction burns on my back.” There were murmurs of assent from everyone else. “Also...” he paused in doing up his flies and waved one of the scanners in a vague way. It beeped happily. “...this says we’re fine. As in _alive_.” He dropped it back on Gwen’s desk and continued getting dressed.

“What happened to us in your dream exactly, Jack?” Gwen asked curiously.

Jack sighed. “Well, Owen was shot by Doctor Copley, then I brought him back with the other Resurrection Gauntlet and he spent a while being undead, and then he was _really_ killed when Grey and Captain John came back and blew up Cardiff. The nuclear power plant went critical and he was trapped inside.”

“Captain John came back?” Ianto said, sounding less than thrilled.

“I can’t believe I died _twice_. That is such a stupid dream,” Owen muttered.

“Who’s Grey?” Tosh asked.

“Grey is my long-lost brother,” Jack said uncomfortably. “He shot you in the stomach and you bled to death in the autopsy room.”

“Oh,” Tosh said faintly. “Well. That must have been... at least I didn’t get hit by a lorry or something.”

“You were so brave,” Jack said sadly. “Really. You saved the day, Tosh, even though you were hurt.” Tosh looked pleased.

“What about me?” Ianto said hesitantly.

“You were killed by an alien virus. You died in my arms.”

Ianto looked horrified. “Was it... sappy?”

“It was very touching!” Jack said indignantly. “I cried!”

“What about Gwen?” Owen asked.

“Oh, _I_ survived,” Gwen said smugly. “And apparently I had a baby.”

They all stared.

“With Rhys!” 

“Well, I feel alive,” Ianto said decisively. “Therefore I will continue to assume that I am. Would anyone like coffee?”

“What, that’s it?” Jack said, a little upset at the anticlimax.

“Yes. You had a very vivid post-coital dream, Jack. Which,” Ianto continued blithely, starting to tidy up, “had several plot holes, I just have to say.”

“It wasn’t a dream!” Jack protested. “It was way too realistic, you’re definitely all dead. Um. What plot holes, exactly?” 

“Well, for instance, where did you get the gauntlet you used to resurrect Owen?”

“It was hidden in a church,” Jack said triumphantly. “I had to fight my way through, like, twenty Weevils.”

“In fact, that is incorrect,” Ianto said smoothly, folding Tosh’s ripped shirt and placing it on a pile of other ruined clothing to be used for dusters. “One gauntlet was destroyed by us when Suzie came back to life, and the other is currently on display in a museum in New York. They have pictures of it on the internet,” he added when Jack looked sceptical. “Additionally, I would not be sappy while dying, thank you very much.”

“You wanted to be sure I’d remember you,” Jack protested, somewhat affronted by Ianto’s dismissal.

“I am not dignifying that with a response,” Ianto said loftily. “ _Of course_ you’ll remember me. I don’t need any reassurance on that front.”

“This is better than telly,” Gwen whispered loudly to Tosh. “Do we have popcorn?”

“Jack’s subconscious killed me _twice_?” Owen asked again.

“If wishing made it so,” Tosh murmured to no-one in particular.

“And, come to think of it,” Ianto continued. “How did I contract an alien virus?”

“We were negotiating with a race of aliens called the 456,” Jack said, sounding a little steamrollered. “They released the virus into Thames House and killed everyone. I died too,” he added, as if hoping that would make it better.

“Did we know they could do that?” Ianto asked curiously.

“No. Well. They’d sort of threatened it before, but this time the alien was in an airtight tank thing...”

Ianto put his hands on his hips. “They released a virus from inside an _airtight_ tank thing? And I find it hard to believe I wasn’t at least wearing a Haz-Mat suit of some kind.”

“Well...” Jack stammered, and then trailed off. “Um. Those are good points.”

“It was aaaaall a dream,” Owen said sarcastically. “And you were there, and you were there...”

“You died bravely, too,” Jack said, a little forlornly. “Both times. It was very noble, actually.”

“I better have,” Owen sniffed, but he looked mollified.

“Jack,” Ianto said firmly. “It was a dream. It’s okay. It’s all over now, and I’ll make some coffee. Anyone need retcon?”

“Might need some for Rhys, later,” Gwen said, grimacing. “I’m not sure he’s going to buy ‘an alien sex machine made us do it’ as an excuse for infidelity.”

“Weeeell,” Ianto said, looking awkward.

“What?”

“Um,” Jack said, staring intently at anything that wasn't Gwen. “He’s, uh... in my office.”

Gwen stuck her head into Jack’s office and jerked back, looking stunned. “Jack!”

“He came by to bring you lunch right before Owen set off the machine,” Jack said defensively. “He has nice eyes!”

There was a groan from inside the office. 

“Better run these readings,” Owen said, grabbing his scanners and hotfooting it to the medical bay.

“Strange energy signatures on the Plass!” Tosh yelped, not even bothering to glance at her computer for verisimilitude.

“Ianto, I need your help in the archives _right now_ ,” Jack said, grabbing Ianto by the collar.

“But – coffee – “ Ianto gasped as he was manhandled down the stairs with unseemly speed.

“Thanks a lot!” Gwen shouted at their retreating backs. “Er... hello, sweetheart...”

“I’m not sure the Archives was the best choice of hiding spot, Jack,” Ianto panted as they concealed themselves between Ra and Sz. “How are we going to know when it’s clear?”

“Listen,” Jack said. There was a faint but audible bellow from upstairs.

“Ah,” Ianto said, smiling slightly. “I suppose we should be grateful they both have such loud - Jack, you just had an orgy!” he protested as Jack snuggled up behind him and slipped his hand inside Ianto’s waistcoat.

“I need to be reassured you’re alive,” Jack said plaintively. Ianto twisted around in Jack’s hold to face him, resting his hands on Jack’s hips.

“I’m definitely alive, Jack.”

“And you don’t feel insecure about our relationship?” Jack pressed. “I know a lot more about your life than you know about mine. That must feel...”

“...Kind of normal, considering you’re about twenty times older than I am and thus have twenty times as many life experiences,” Ianto said logically. “I’m not insecure, Jack.” He smiled softly. “You come back to me. You wouldn’t come back to me if you didn’t want to be here.”

Jack beamed and nuzzled his neck. “That was way sappy, snookums.”

“Shut up.”

**Author's Note:**

> Regarding the title of this fic: “Dallas” was a long-running American TV soap opera, now mostly famous for the way it unexpectedly retconned an entire season by having one of the main characters wake up one morning to realize the previous year had just been a dream. Additionally, there is an old, infamous porn movie called “Debbie Does Dallas”, and I couldn’t resist the combination. Why yes, I am actually quite proud of puns that bad.


End file.
